Audi and SAIC joint venture research and development center established, launching the first AUDI new platform model in 2028

On September 2nd, Audi's local R&D center in China completed its business registration and was officially established. According to the information from the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, the full name of the new company is "Audi (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd." (AITC), located in Anting Town, Jiading District, Shanghai, with a registered capital of 694 million RMB. The shareholder structure is 49% held by Shanghai Automotive Group Co., Ltd., 41% held by Audi AG, and 10% held by Volkswagen (China) Investment Co., Ltd. The joint venture is led by Audi. In April of this year, Audi signed a contract with SAIC to establish a joint venture research and development center, which will be internally named "Audi Innovation Technology Center" (AITC). Audi has revealed that some of its research and development teams have relocated to the new address. AITC is Audi's first "full value chain" research and development entity outside of Europe, specifically designed for the SAIC Audi AUDI new energy brand. It is a research and development entity with vehicle development and end-to-end capabilities, with a focus on creating AI intelligent cockpits and next-generation advanced driving assistance systems for Chinese users. Audi and SAIC will jointly develop four new AUDI cars on a new intelligent digital platform, with the first model set to be launched in 2028. Audi emphasizes that all locally developed and iterated models must retain Audi's exclusive design language and driving features to ensure the high recognition of the Audi brand. Audi has appointed Matthias Pfister as the General Manager of AITC, while SAIC has appointed Shan Yunwei as the Deputy General Manager. The R&D team consists of a total of 300 people.